Friday, March 18, 2011

Advocate Spotlight! Libbie Hough

Libbie Hough, a You’re the Cure advocate from North Carolina, came to Capitol Hill on March 17th to share her story and urge Congress to preserve the Affordable Care Act to ensure children with heart disease and other pre-existing conditions have access to affordable, quality care.

Libbie’s 19-year-old daughter, Natalie, suffered cardiac arrest about 18 months ago in school, due to LongQT Syndrome, a life-threatening and usually genetic heart condition that unexpectedly claims thousands of lives every year, often with no symptoms or warning signs.

“We’re very appreciative of the peace of mind that the Affordable Care Act provides,” she said. “Thanks to the law, we are assured that Natalie can stay on our family’s health insurance policy until she turns 26 and other patients with pre-existing conditions now have options for affordable care. Before the law, affordable individual coverage for patients like Natalie with pre-existing conditions was essentially non-existent.”

Libbie was joined at the briefing by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other members of Congress, doctors, nurses, patients, and small business owners to mark the one-year anniversary of the law.